Search results for "Majorana"
showing 10 items of 174 documents
Neutrino Masses and Lepton Flavour Violation in Thick Brane Scenarios
2001
We address the issue of lepton flavour violation and neutrino masses in the ``fat-brane'' paradigm, where flavour changing processes are suppressed by localising different fermion field wave-functions at different positions (in the extra dimensions) in a thick brane. We study the consequences of suppressing lepton number violating charged lepton decays within this scenario for lepton masses and mixing angles. In particular, we find that charged lepton mass matrices are constrained to be quasi-diagonal. We further consider whether the same paradigm can be used to naturally explain small Dirac neutrino masses by considering the existence of three right-handed neutrinos in the brane, and discu…
Bounds on the tau and muon neutrino vector and axial vector charge radius
2002
A Majorana neutrino is characterized by just one flavor diagonal electromagnetic form factor: the anapole moment, that in the static limit corresponds to the axial vector charge radius . Experimental information on this quantity is scarce, especially in the case of the tau neutrino. We present a comprehensive analysis of the available data on the single photon production process $e^+ e^- -> \nu \bar\nu \gamma$ off Z-resonance, and we discuss the constraints that these measurements can set on for the tau neutrino. We also derive limits for the Dirac case, when the presence of a vector charge radius is allowed. Finally, we comment on additional experimental data on $\nu_\mu$ scattering from t…
CPT Violation and the Nature of Neutrinos
2002
In order to accommodate the neutrino oscillation signals from the solar, atmospheric, and LSND data, a sterile fourth neutrino is generally invoked, though the fits to the data are becoming more and more constrained. However, it has recently been shown that the data can be explained with only three neutrinos, if one invokes CPT violation to allow different masses and mixing angles for neutrinos and antineutrinos. We explore the nature of neutrinos in such CPT-violating scenarios. Majorana neutrino masses are allowed, but in general, there are no longer Majorana neutrinos in the conventional sense. However, CPT-violating models still have interesting consequences for neutrinoless double beta…
CP violation and neutrino oscillations
2007
We review the basic mechanisms of neutrino mass generation and the corresponding structure of the lepton mixing matrix. We summarize the status of three-neutrino oscillation parameters as determined from current observations, using state-of-the-art solar and atmospheric neutrino fluxes, as well as latest experimental data as of September 2007. We also comment on recent attempts to account for these results and to understand flavour from first principles. We discuss extensively the prospects for probing the strength of CP violation in two near term accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments, T2K and NOvA, as well as possible extensions such as T2KK and a second large off-axis detector near…
Constraining Majorana neutrino electromagnetic properties from the LMA-MSW solution of the solar neutrino problem
2002
In this paper we use solar neutrino data to derive stringent bounds on Majorana neutrino transition moments (TMs). Should such be present, they would contribute to the neutrino--electron scattering cross section and hence alter the signal observed in Super-Kamiokande. Motivated by the growing robustness of the LMA-MSW solution of the solar neutrino problem indicated by recent data, and also by the prospects of its possible confirmation at KamLAND, we assume the validity of this solution, and we constrain neutrino TMs by using the latest global solar neutrino data. We find that all elements of the TM matrix can be bounded at the same time. Furthermore, we show how reactor data play a complem…
Extended Black Box Theorem for Lepton Number and Flavor Violating processes
2006
We revisit the well known "Black Box" theorem establishing a fundamental relation between the amplitude of neutrinoless double beta decay and the effective Majorana neutrino mass. We extend this theorem to the general case of arbitrary lepton number and lepton flavor violating (LFNV) processes and to the three generation Majorana neutrino mass matrix. We demonstrate the existence of a general set of one-to-one correspondence relations between the effective operators generating these processes, and elements of the neutrino mass matrix, such that if one of these two quantities vanishes the other is guaranteed to vanish as well, and moreover, if one of these quantities is non-zero the other is…
Heavy neutrino mixing and single production at linear collider
1997
We study the single production of heavy neutrinos via the processes $e^-e^+ \to \nu N$ and $e^-\gamma \to W^- N$ at future linear colliders. As a base of our considerations we take a wide class of models, both with vanishing and non-vanishing left-handed Majorana neutrino mass matrix $m_L$. We perform a model independent analyses of the existing experimental data and find connections between the characteristic of heavy neutrinos (masses, mixings, CP eigenvalues) and the $m_L$ parameters. We show that with the present experimental constraints heavy neutrino masses almost up to the collision energy can be tested in the future experiments.
On the nature of the fourth generation neutrino and its implications
2012
We consider the neutrino sector of a Standard Model with four generations. While the three light neutrinos can obtain their masses from a variety of mechanisms with or without new neutral fermions, fourth-generation neutrinos need at least one new relatively light right-handed neutrino. If lepton number is not conserved this neutrino must have a Majorana mass term whose size depends on the underlying mechanism for lepton number violation. Majorana masses for the fourth generation neutrinos induce relative large two-loop contributions to the light neutrino masses which could be even larger than the cosmological bounds. This sets strong limits on the mass parameters and mixings of the fourth …
Low-energy anti-neutrinos from the sun
1997
We consider the sensitivity of future neutrino experiments in the low energy region, such as BOREXINO or HELLAZ, to a solar electron antineutrino signal. We show that, if neutrino conversions within the Sun result in partial polarization of initial solar neutrino fluxes, then a new opportunity arises to observe the electron antineutrinos and thus to probe the Majorana nature of the neutrinos. This is achieved by comparing the slopes of the energy dependence of the differential neutrino electron scattering cross section for different neutrino conversion scenarios. We also show how the \nu_e -> \bar{\nu}_e conversions may take place for low energy solar neutrinos while being unobservable at t…
Leptonic Flavor-changing Z0 Decays in SU(2)xU(1) Theories with Right- handed Neutrinos
1993
We analyze possible lepton-flavor-violating decays of the $Z^0$ particle in a minimal extension of the Standard Model, in which one right-handed neutral field for each family has been introduced. Such rare leptonic decays are induced by Majorana neutrinos at the first electroweak loop level and are generally not suppressed by the ordinary "see-saw" mechanism. In particular, we find that experimental bounds on branching ratios of the order of $10^{-5}-10^{-6}$ attainable at $LEP$ may impose constraints on lepton-flavor-mixing parameters and the masses of the heavy Majorana neutrinos.